John 13:31- ‘Love One Another As I Have Loved You’

There is no greater proof of God’s love for us than the Cross of Jesus Christ. In the cross we see a new way of love – a love that is unselfish and selflessly oriented to serving others for their good, and a sacrificial love that is forgiving, compassionate, and merciful beyond comprehension.

John 13:31-33A, 34-35

When Judas had left them, Jesus said,

“Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.

If God is glorified in him,

God will also glorify him in himself,

and God will glorify him at once.

My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.

I give you a new commandment: love one another.

As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.

This is how all will know that you are my disciples,

if you have love for one another.”

Jesus commands us, his disciples, to love one another just as he has loved us. How can we love our neighbor selflessly, sacrificially, and with compassion? Through the victory of the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we now have full access to God’s unlimited mercy, grace, and powr to love and forgive even those who cause us grief and suffering. God gives us new abundant life in his Holy Spirit and he fills our hearts with the supernatural gifts of faith, hope, and love. Paul the Apostle reminds us that “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us” (Romans 5:5). As we turn to God with trust and obedience, he transforms our hearts and frees us from our hurts and prejudices so that we can freely choose to love others with compassion, kindness, and mercy. The Lord Jesus has set us free from slavery to fear, sin, and prejudice. We are now free to choose for his way of love and holiness. Do you seek to bring glory to God in the way you love and treat others?